If vampires tend to feel a bit overused recently, it’s generally because they are. Thanks to certain major motion pictures, books and video games, they have become a popular topic for fiction. While overusing a theme is nothing new for the industry, in the case of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘s Dawnguard expansion, it fits the setting. Namely, it’s an aspect of Skyrim that wasn’t covered too much in the main game, save for a few side quests or nameless enemies suffering from vampirism. it isn’t covered in much depth aside from the fact that they exist. READ MORE
Games, even cooperative ones, aren’t always a field of equals. There’s been some controversy lately about what to call this brand of asymmetrical co-op, but I choose to credit the first popular instance of the concept: Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Tails was fully-playable by a second player, but he was invincible, re-spawned when he left the screen and wasn’t given any credit for the team’s exploits. As a little one particularly lacking in skill in Sonic games, I appreciated it then as a way to get through the game by basically only using Tails. These days, I appreciate it because it allows for a cooperative experience in a game with design elements that should have precluded a second on-screen player. READ MORE
Point-and-click adventure games are enjoying a rennaissance lately, led by Telltale’s episodic series (like The Walking Dead). But we’ve seen some wonderful games released in the genre from other studios lately, like The Book of Unwritten Tales and Resonance. Daedalic Entertainment’s Deponia makes another great case that the genre should be getting more well-deserved attention. READ MORE
In the new episode, we’re talking about the news out of Gamescom, the arrival of the 3DS XL, the Neo Geo X’s strange existence and Remember Me, which some didn’t. Andrew tells us about Retro/Grade and Papo & Yo, Graham explores Sound Shapes, Shawn puts his degree in Evil Physics to work in A Virus Named TOM and we all discuss the games we’re most anticipating for the rest of 2012.
Video games allow for many different stories through multiple perspectives. Through games, players can experience a multitude of different narratives and, not only that, interact with said narratives. When you attempt to tell a very personal story and create a game around that story, things get trickier. You need to find a way to make that story personal to all players, even if they never went through those experiences themselves. This is where Papo & Yo comes in. It tells the story of a young boy struggling to escape his difficult life through fantasy. READ MORE
